Mechanical musical instrument.



J. 0. SCHWARZ 6L G. BIORKLUND.

MECHANICAL MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

APPLICATION FILED JULY I4, |915.

Patented Feb. 27, 1917.

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UNiTED sTATEs PATENT oEEioE.

JUSTIN O. SCHWARZ AND GUSTAF BJ'OR-KLUND, OF NEW YORK, Y., ASSIGNORS TO HARDMAN PECK da CO., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

MECHANICAL MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 27. 1.917.

Application filed July 14,' 1915. Serial No. 39,737.

To all whom t may concern Be it known that we, ,l Us'rix O. Scnwxns, a citizen of the United States, residing i the city, county, and State of New York, and GUsTaE BJonnLUxn, a subject olI the King ot Sweden, residing at the city ol" New York, county ot Queens7 and State ot New York, have invented certain new and useitul Improvements in Meclnlnical Musical Instruments, oit.' which the Following is a specification.

Our invention .relates to playing` mechanisms ior pianos or other musical instruments in which the action is operated by pneumatic striker-bellows.

The principal object ot the invention is to provide means for accenting any desired note or notes of the action.

le attain that object by supplementing the ordinary playing mechanism with a series of auxiliary striker-bellows and means tor operating those bellows, whereby to augment the force of the blow with which the accented note or notes are struck.

In the accompanying drawings,

Figure l is a diagrammatic sectional elevation of a unit embodiment of our invention, the section through the lower left hand portion thereof, representing the valve chest and striker-bellows, being taken on the line o o ot Fig. 2;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the valve chest I and striker-bellows; and

Fig. an end. view ot a detached strikerbellows and an associated auxiliary bellows.

The tracker l, over which the note-sheet (not shown) travels, has a series ol noteapertures 2 cach communicating through a tube 3 with a primary pneumatic lprovided with an exhaust chamber 5 and a diaphragm valve G. A conduit 7 leads from said pneumatic to the air chamber S of the corresponding secondary pneumatic 9 which pneumatic is provided with an exhaust chamber l0, a diaphragm valve ll and a passageway l2 leading from the valve to the striker-bellows 13. The exhaust chambers 5 and lO are connected by a pipe lst and are both maintained in a state of air exhaustion, during the playing olf the instrument, by means of suitable suction. apparavtus (not shown) drawing on the pipe through the branch 19,

Separate pneumatics and striker-bellows are provided for each note of the action. It desired several of the pnemnatics may be combined in a single chest and the chests arranged in tiers in the usual manner.

Appurtenant to each striker-bellows 123 ris an auxiliary bellows 16 having an arm 17 which overlaps the movable liaf oit the striker-bellows but is not attached thereto. In the ordinary playing oi the instrument the striker-bellows lil operate independently, but when a note is to be accented the striker and the auxiliary bellows thereof operate 65 conjnnctly so as to increase the .torce oi the blow with which the striker-arm 1S acts upon the han'nner action (not shown) ot the note.

The conduit 7 has a branch 19 leading to the air chamber 2O of the pneumatic 2l, which pneumatic governs the operation oi' the auxiliary bellows 1G. Said pneumatic is provided with a chamber Q2 normally containing atmospheric air, a diaphragm valve Q8 and a passageway Qi. leadingtrom the valve to the auxiliary bellows.

lVhenever air is admitted, through the conduit 7, into the air chamber S of the secondary pneumatic of the striker-bellows of any note, it will be simultaneously admitted, into the chamber Q0 ot the secondary or governor-pneumatic ol the corresponding auxiliary bellows. As, however, the chamber ot' `the latter pneumatic normally contains air, 'the admi .sion otl air into the chan'lber 2O under the dia'- phragm ol" the valve 23 will. Vnot eiliecl' movement ot the valve and (.:onscqiiently the a uxiliary lellows7 controlled by that valve, will rci'nain inert during the normal operation .ot its companion striker-bellows.

To permit movement oi' the valve 23 it is vecessary to apply suction on the chamber For that purpose we provide a pneumatic device 25 which serves to control the application ot' suction on that chamber. Said device communicates through a tube 26 with the chamber and through a tube Q7 with an accent-aperture 28 in the tracker and has its operation controlled by perforations in the note sheet registering with said apertures. I

The device i preferably consists oil a Cil valve board or chest containing a primary valve 2l.) and a secondary valve 30 having exhaust chambers 31 and respectively, which chambers are connected by a channel 33 and communicate through a, tube Jl with the suction apparatus oi the instrument. ,5r passageway 35 leads from the primary valve to the air chamber 3G under the diaphragm of the secondary valve.

(.)rdinarily all ot the secondary or governor-pneumatics ot auxiliair-y bellows ot the entire action will he contained in two or more chests each having a single continuous chamber Z2 common to all ol the valves 23 of the chest. For example two chests may be provided each containing the val vos olf all olf the auxiliary bellows ot the bass and treble notes respectively, or said valves may be grouped in any other desired manner. ',lo control the suction on the chamber ol: each group ot valves, a separate pneumatic .25 and aperture 28 will be provided.

ln the drawings the various valves are shown in the position they assume when the 'tracker apertures are covered. llllhenevcr one ot the apertures 28 is uncovered air will enter into the corresponding device 25 and cause the primary and secondary valves thereof to rise and establish communication between the exhaust chamber 32 and the chamber Q2 whereby to exhaust the air from the latter. Now if air is coincidently admitted, by uncovering a note opening 2, into the air chambers 20 of one or more of the valves 3 those valves will operate to cause collapsing of the auxiliary bellows, imultaneously with the eollapsiini,` oit the strikerbellows, and thus accent the playing ot the corresponding note or notes.

li' desired the auxiliary bellows 16 may be employed to increase the sound of the normal playing of the notes instead ot for acccnting purposes. To that end wc provide a valve block 3T consisting of two sections, one slidablc on the other, and having in each section channels 38 which connect with the tubes 27 leading` from the accent openings to the pneumatic devices 25. The upper section oit the block also contains a series ot open-ended channels 89. By sliding the sections of the block on each other the air-line 27 may be broken and the pneumatic devices 25 may be placed in continuous communication with the outside air through the open-channels 39. ln this condition the pneumatic devices will operate to apply a constant suction on the chamber 22. Now whenever a note-opening 2 is uncovered both the bellows 13 and l5 controlled by that opening will operate together so as to increase the torce ot the blow of the normal playing stroke of the note.

rlhe construction and arrangement oit the various parts may be modified and varied from that illustrated in the accompanying drawings and described herein without departing iti-om the essential features of this invention.

llllhat we claim as our invention and desire secure by Letters Patent is:

l. ln pneumatic actions the combination, with an indepei dently operable striker-bellows, et an auxiliary bellows carrying an arm which contacts loosely with the movable leall ot the striker-bellows, and means ilfor operating both bellows in unison.

2. ln pneumatic actions the combination, with a series ot independently operable striker-bellows, ot a series or auxiliary bellows each disposed alongside oit its companion striker-bellows and having an arm which contacts loosely with the movable leat thereol'j. and means 'lor selectively operating any oit the auxiliary bellows conjunctlywith its companion striker-bellows.

23. ln pneumatic actions the combination, with a tracker having a note aperture and an accent aperture, a striker bellows, and means communicating with the note aperture for controlling the striker bellows, of an auxiliary bellows having a member which contacts loosely with the movable leat of the striker-bellows, and means connnunicating with both the note and the accent apertures for controlling the auxiliary bellows, said means operating to actuate the auxiliary bellows when air is admitted to both apertures simultaneously.

4. ln pneumatic actions the combination of a tracker having a note aperture and an accent aperture, a striker-bellows, an auxil ia ry bellows arranged alongside the striker'- bellows and carrying an arm which contacts loosely with the movable leaf thereof, and means communicating with both apertures for controlling said bellows, said means operating to independently actuate the strikerbellows when air is admitted to the note aperture alone and to actuate both bellows coni unctly when air is admitted to both apertures sinniltancously.

5. 1n pneumatic actions the combination oil?, a tracker having a series of note-apertures and an accent aperture, a series of striker-bellows; an auxiliary bellows associated with each striker-bellows, pneumatics communicating with each note-aperture and its corresponding striker-bellows for controlling the operation of the latter upon admission of air into the note-aperture, and other pneumatics communicating with the accent-aperture and the auxiliaryI bellows ttor selectively governing the auxiliary bollows to co-act with their companion strikerbellows upon admission olE air into the accent aperture and one or more or' the note-apertures simultaneously.

6. ln pneumatic actions the combination of, a tracker having a note aperture and an accent aperture, a striker-bellows, an auxiliary bellows, pneumatics communicating with the note-aperture and striker-bellows for operating' the latter upon admission of air to the note-aperture, a valve for governing operation of the auxiliary bellows communicat ing through said pneumatics with the noteaperture, and a pneumatic device communicating with the accent aperture and the valve for applying suction to the valve upon admission oi air into the accent aperture, said valve operating to permit exhaustion of air from the auxiliary bellows when air is admitted to both apertures simultaneously.

7. In pneumatic actions the combination, of a tracker having a series of note-apertures .and an accent aperture, a series of strikerbellows, an auxiliary bellows for each striker-bellows, a primary and a secondary pneumatic for each striker-bellows, having communication with the corresponding noteaperture, a` secondary pneumatic for each auxiliary bellows communicating with the primary pneumatic of its companion strikerbellows, a pneumatic device for applying suction to all of the secondary pneumatics of M bellows when air is admitted to the note aperture of its companion striker-bellows and to the accent aperture simultaneously.

S. In pneumatic actions the combination of a striker-bellows, an auxiliary bellows, a secondary pneumatic for-contr0lling the striker-bellows, a secondary pneumatic for controlling the auxiliary bellows, and a single primary pneumatic controlling the admission of air to both secondary pneumatics. In testimony whereof, we have hereunto aiiixed our signatures in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JUSTIN O. SCHIVARZ. GUSTAF BJORKLUND. Witnesses CARL H. GoDDE, JOHN J. Honcnrr.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. C. 

